(2009-08-31) Slywotzky R and D Lack Killing Economy

Adrian Slywotzky thinks the death of the R And D lab is starving the economy of big Innovation. The Venture Capital and initial public offering components of the business model are still in place; we just have to rebuild the upstream labs that focused on basic research, the headwaters for the whole innovation ecosystem. Science is funny. It's a crapshoot. It takes hundreds of people with high IQ-s, PhD-s, and an incredible curiosity, work ethic, and persistence. It also takes critical mass, lab support, the right equipment and instrumentation, peer review, etc. It takes open communication among peers, and other subtle but critical cultural factors. It takes a tolerance for risk. A tolerance for Failure. A willingness to think and apply innovation laterally (many of the big breakthroughs were originally aimed at other targets). It takes a Culture that attracts, encourages, and rewards the best minds.